AllMovie

Nathaniel West's novel Miss Lonelyhearts inspired two films of the early 1930s: Advice to the Lovelorn (33) and Hi, Nellie! Paul Muni stars in the latter film as a big-city newspaper editor who gets in trouble for printing unsubstantiated information about a murder case. Muni is demoted and forced to write the paper's advice column, signing himself "Nellie." As he recklessly dispenses frivolous advice, Muni keeps tabs on the person he'd accused of murder. Using his "Nellie" connections, Muni gets the goods on the killer--and nearly gets rubbed out by a gangster mob. Warner Bros. must have been crazy about Hi, Nellie!, since the studio remade the film three times: Love is on the Air (37), You Can't Escape Forever (42), and House Across the Street (49).